Month: May 2009

Specialist Holidays in Tenerife

Posted by admin – May 23, 2009

In addition to being a perfect winter holiday getaway destination, Tenerife is also a favourite location for many specialist holiday providers. This group of holiday packagers focus on niche market sectors and provide specialist holidays to cater for certain types of people or people with special interests. These holidays are often based around characteristics of the people themselves, perhaps their age or religious beliefs for example, but more normally they are created to cater for particular hobbies or the special areas of interest of those people.

Cookery holidays, walking holidays, photography holidays, birdwatching holidays and painting holidays are all examples of specialist holidays that now use Tenerife as their base. Holidays of this type are usually provided for smaller groups of people and feature either a guide or tutor as part of the package.

Birdwatching holidays are a popular type of specialist with English visitors to Tenerife. The island, likes others in the Canaries, provides opportunities to spot seabirds and native species that are not found in the UK. Endemic varieties include the Blue Chaffinch which is a common sight and the more elusive Bolle’s Pigeon and Laurel Pigeon. Another obvious native is the Tenerife Goldcrest which is non-migratory and so is only found on Tenerife and the nearby island of La Gomera.

Tenerife is famous for its warm winter climate and watersports enthusiasts can take advantage of this weather to extend their season. Ample accessible coastline and spectacular Atlantic surf make it a favourite destination for surfers, windsurfers and kite surfers.

Scuba diving is also a popular activity on Tenerife. There are several scuba training schools which take advantage of the underwater volcanic rock formations and the abundance of sealife. For around 500 euros, which covers tuition and accommodation, novices can undergo an intensive week long course leading to the PADI Open Water Scuba certificate. Comfortable average sea and air temperatures, which make diving a year-round sport in Tenerife, has led to several specialist Dive Schools setting up base on the island.

Warm weather training camps are the preserve of any serious athlete who finds their off season months spoilt by cold wet weather. Sportsmen from the UK and other northern european countries have long appreciated the warmer winter climate of the Canaries. Lanzarote is the first location that springs to mind when you think of athletes, triathletes and cyclists looking for early season training facilities, but Tenerife also has plenty to offer. Los Cristianos in the south of the island boasts an Olympic sized swimming pool for swim camps and a modern synthetic athletics track for both track and field athletes.

Tenerife also provides a fine winter base for cyclists, both amateur and professional alike. The resort was made famous recently by the visit of Lance Armstrong and his Astana team, who used the island as part of their preparations for the season ahead. Mountainous roads, pine forests and warm weather make Tenerife a perfect choice for cyclists looking to train in the months of December and January. The mountainous regions, high altitude routes and forests also make the island great for off-road cycling and several companies provide MTB ( Mountain Bike ) tours and holidays.

For the true adventurer one company is now providing the ultimate sporting challenge on Tenerife. The four day challenge involves travelling from sea level using a combination of canoeing, walking, mountain biking, rope descents, overnight camps in the company of experienced guides, culminating near the 3800m peak of Teide Volcano. Participants are limited in numbers and are expected to be both fit and flexible.

So you see Tenerife has a wealth of options and opportunities for the specialist holiday maker. Travel to the island is made easier by a wealth of low cost flight providers who fly to the island’s two airports on a year-round basis. Tenerife Airport South, or Reina Sofia, is the larger of the two airports and is the one most frequently used by flight providers. The other smaller airport is called Los Rodeos, is located in the north of the island and is used more as an inter-island hub.

The Amazing Eiffel Tower

Posted by admin – May 10, 2009

Make reference to France travel and the name Paris comes up right away. Paris is known to the rest of the world for its world renowned Eiffel tower. The tower was built between 1887 and 1889 and became today one of the most recognizable monuments in France as well as an international symbol that attracts people from all around the world to Paris. Located near the Seine river, which is considered to be the lifeline of the city of Paris, the Eiffel tower was built by a French engineer called Gustave Eiffel, which explains why the tower was given the Eiffel name.

The tower was built a century after the French revolution in order to celebrate the centenary of this important historical milestone and the ideals of the French Revolution liberty, equality and fraternity. French history indicates that the tower was inaugurated on the 31st of march 1889 and opened to the public on May, 6th of the same year. However, it is the Eiffel tower that symbolizes Paris as a tourist destination in modern times. The construction of the tower had indeed met with a stiff resistance from the intellectuals as well as the regular Frenchman during its beginnings. A number of French leaders and citizens questioned the judgment of the people who had thought of the idea of the tower in the creation period, calling it an eyesore and a misuse of public finances and wealth. Of those protestors, the world renowned writer Guy de Maupassant is thought to have eaten at one specific restaurant everyday, as he claimed this restaurant was the only restaurant in Paris that spared him the painful sight of the tower! The tower, a milestone for France travelers was the tallest structure in the world at the time of its construction and measures approximately 300 meters high and inclues 3 stories. Highest structure in Paris, the Eiffel tower is the second highest structure in France.

The French authorities in charge of maintaining the tower provide a useful website that can attest to be a blessing for travelers from other countries. The website gives accurate rates for sightseeing and also provides the history of the construction of the tower. Distinct rates exist for adults and children as well as exclusive concessions that are available for the disabled.

Like the varying degree of passionate travelers of France, the rates for the elevators vary as one rises up the tower. The standard rates for adults for the first story are in the 40 euros while the 2nd floor can be assessed at a rate in the seventy euros for adults. The top level, which is a visual delight of Paris can be reached by elevator at a rate of about 100 euros. The tower is fully equipped with facilities that can help the disabled access to its height and share the beauty of the city of Paris. Lifts and turnstiles are easily available that can help people with reduced mobility access the tower. For a summary of a visit to the Eiffel tower make sure to stop at Altitude 95, the restaurant located on the first level of the Eiffel tower. Needless to say that France travel remains incomplete without touring this historical beauty.